Gravity fire-door mechanism.



No. 833,442. PATENT-JED 001?. 16, 190-6.

' c. L. COLBY.

GRAVITY. FIRE DOOR MECHANISM.

APPLICATION II-LED MAE.12. 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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PATENTED 0GT. 16, 1906 0. L. COLBY.

- GRAVITY FIRE DOOR MECHANISM.

APPLIUATION FILED MAR.12, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JNVENT ATTORNEY.

WITNESSES.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLARENCE L. COLBY, OF RICHMOND, INDIANA.

GRAVITY FIRE-DOOR MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 16, 1906.

Application filed March 12, 1906- Serial No. 305,482.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CLARENCE L. COLBY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Richmond, in the county of Wayne and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gravity Fire-Door Mechanisms, of which the larly to the mechanism whereby said doors may be automatically closed in case of fire, either on the same or other floors of the same building.

In this invention my object, broadly speaking, is the provision of a mechanism of the class stated, having new and improved means for the better accomplishment of the results required therefrom, while at the same time materially simplifying the mechanism therefor and reducing the cost of production and installation to a minimum.

Other specific objects and particular advantages will present themselves and be made notably apparent in the course of the ensuing specification and claims.

An exemplification of my present invention is shown in the accompanying two sheets of drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the agplt.

cation of my invention, showing the redoors open. Fig. 2 1s a detail now showing the main keeper and its connections. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of one of the doorcatches. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the application of my invention, showing the fire-doors closed; and Fig. 5 is a face view of the mechanism for holding and releasing the doors when they are in a vertical position.

Similar reference characters denote like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In the drawings the letter A designates the floor of the upper story of a building, the letter B designates the celling for said upper story, the letter C denotes the hatchway through the floor A, and the letter D denotes the hatchway formed through the ceiling leading into the attic; the letters E and F denote the elevator guide-posts, the

letters G and H denote each a banister located on either side of the hatchway C, the letter I denotes the elevator-cable, and the letter J designates the elevator-actuating rope, all of said members being of any ordinary form and construction, and they may be variously located under varying conditions. I

The numeral 1 denotes a chute extending from near the ceiling B to the base of the building, located parallel with and adjoining the right-hand outer corner of the post E, as

shown, and it should have an interior space equal from end to end thereof, in which may freely operate the weight 2, which latter has J a link 3 in its upper end.

The numeral 4 denotes a bracket or the like secured near the ceiling B to the outer face of the post E and extending to the right therefrom, as shown. Secured on the outer face of the bracket 4, as shown in Fig. 2, is the main keeper, consisting of the permanently-secured body 5, a lever 6, pivoted at its lower end to the lower end of said body, with a hook formed on its lower end to engage in the link 3 of the weight, and an arm 7 is pivoted near the center of the body 5 and extending upward beyond the body 5 and having attached to one side the coil-spring 8, whereby said arm is kept normally vertical between forks extending out from the upper end of the body 5. I The upper end of the lever 6 is formed to hook around to one side and extend in the rear of said arm in order to retain said lever in a vertical position. Secured in the upper end of the arm 7 and extending in an opposite direction from the spring 8 is the chain or rope 9. If this chain be pulled in a direction from the main keeper, then the upper end of the lever, 6 will be released and fall downward, thus releas-- ing the link 3, and thereby allowing the weight 2 to fall downward through the chute 1. The chain 9 extends from the main keeper over the ulley 10, which latter is secured to the cei ing B, and then forward to near the front right-hand. corner of the Secured permanently to the chain 9 some i distance below the ceiling B is a button 12, presently referredv to.

IIO

The numeral 13 denotes an auxiliary weight having an aperture formed longitudinally therethrough, in which may freely operate the chain 9, whereby said weight will rest normally on the button 12, as. shown in Fig. 4, and will be free to be moved up and down over the chain or rope 9, as is readily apparent.

The numeral 14 denotes lengths of wire or the like which are all connected by the interposition of fuse-links 15, whereby the sections of the wire 14 may be easily separated by heat. The wire 14 is permanently secured at any desired point and is extended over various pulleys, as the pulleys 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, and is finally brought from the latter pulley to the upper end of the weight 13, to which it is secured, whereby said weight 13 is suspended by the wire 1.4 at a considerable distance above the button 12, as shown in Fig. 1.

Hinged to the floor A on either side of the post E are two doors K andL, which are adapted when down to close the hatchway 0, except a space between the doors of a width the same as the width of the posts E and F, whi'chspace is closed'by -the auxiliary door M, hinged to the inner edge ofthe doorK, and-which is adapted to close over against the door L, substantially as shown in Fig. 4, and when the doors are open they are vertical, as shown in Fig. 1. 1 v I Extending across in the rear of the post E, parallel with the floor and of a length to reach beyond the centers of the two doors K and L when they are open, is the keeper-board 16 The upper edge of the keeper-board may be secured to the under edge of thebanister G. Mounted on either end of the keeper-.

board 16 is the door-keeper, (shown most clearly in Fig. 5,) and as they are identical, I will describe the one on the left, while the one on the right will be denoted by similar characters primed: The keeper on the left consists of the stem 17*, having an integral cross-plate 18 at the top, in which is formed a vertical slot which extends from almost end to endthereof, in which slot operates the arm 19*. The numeral 20 denotes a helical spring secured at one end of the keeper-board 16 bein located to the right of the lever 19, the ot er end of said spring being coupled to the arm 19 by means of an eye formed through said arm and a link 21 connected to said spring and hooked into said eye, as shown in Fig. 5. In the extreme upper ends of the arms 19 and 19 are formed eyes to receive the respective left and right ends of the connecting-rod 22, by which the arms l9 -and 19 are caused to move synchronouslya It will be noticed that the springs 20 and 20 are so tensioned as to normally keep the levers 19 and 19 to the extreme right.

Secured on the upper faces of the doors K and L are catches 23 and 23, respectively,

eachbeing formed substantially as that shown shown in Fig. 1.

The rod 22 is disposed at right angles to 4 and in front of the chute 1, as indicated. In the center of the right-hand face of the chute 1 a vertical slot is formed, in which is mounted the plate 24, and in the vertical slot of the plateis pivoted the lower portion of the trigger 25, whereby if the upper end of the trigger be moved tothe right, as shown in Fig. 5, the point of the trigger will extend into the 'interior of the chute, as shown, or if the upper end of the trigger be moved to the left then the point of the trigger will be removed from the interior of the chute, as is indicated by the dotted lines shown in Fig. 5.

Secured around the rod 22 toward its right: hand end, located at a predetermined proper point, is the thimble 26, to which is pivoted the upper end of the trigger 25, as shown.

If the mechanism be coupled up as shown and described, the springs 20 20" will keep the lower end of the trigger 25 normally extended into the interior of the chute 1, and at the same time, the doors being open, they will be latched and the latches will be held by said springs 20 and 20. Should either of the links 15 be melted or the wire 14 become votherwise separated, the weight 13 will instantly drop onto the button 12, which latter will draw the chain 9 against the resiliency of the sprin 8, thereby allowing the arm 7 to release t e lever 6, which latter will fall and release the weight 2. The weight 2 on being released will drop to the bottom of the chute 1 and in transit will of necessity force out the lower end of the trigger 25, thereby moving the upper end ofthe trigger to the left, carrying the rod 22 endwise to the left and it in turn moving the arms 19 and 19*" to the left against the springs 20* and 20*" to the positions shown by the dotted lines, releasing the catches 23 and 23, and thereby allowing the doors K and L to close by reason of their own weight or gravity. In order to assure the movements of said doors as soon as released, I provide each door with a push-spring 27 and 27, respectively, which springs are secured to the face of the keeper-board 16*, as shown, and they are adapted to continuously press against their respective doors when the doors are secured open, as in Fig. 1, whereby the doors are given an instantaneous start as soon as they are released.

I desire it to be understood that no limit is IIO set to the number of stories below the one inv dicated in the drawings. Each may be fitted up with a separate fire-door or set of fire-doors and their mechanisms being independent of that shown; but the chain 9 and the chute 1 should extend from the top to the base of the building, whereby if the chain 9 be pulled downward by a corresponding weight 13 at either floor it will cause the release of the weight 2, which weight in its fall will actuate a corresponding trigger at each story, and thereby cause the doors to close on each floor on whichever floor the wire 14 has been severed, but leaving the wires 14 and the links 15 intact on all the floors except that floor on which a fire has occurred.

Having now fully shown and described-my invention and its operation, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is'

1. In a gravity fire-door mechanism, the combination with the doors adapted to close a hatchway or the like, latches for retaining said doors open, a vertically-disposed chute, a Weight operative in said chute, by gravity, a main keeper for holding said weight at the upper end of the chute, a system of wiring intermediately connected by fusible links, means for releasing said weight when the connection of said wiring is broken, a trigger having connection with said latches of the doors and one part thereof extending into said chute whereby the weight in its descent will actuate said trigger to release said doors whereby they will fall by gravity to close said hatchway, all substantially as shown and described.

2. A gravity fire door mechanism, the combination with the doors adapted to close a hatchwa or the like, a latch for each of said doors for preventing the doors from closing when latched, a spring for each of said doors for starting its respective door to close when the latch is released, a rod for connecting said latches whereby they will act synchronously, a vertically-disposed chute, a main keeper located over the upper end of said chute, a weight suspended from the main keeper and adapted to enter said chute, a trigger mounted in one side of said chute below said weight, means for actuating said keeper to release said weight, and means for connecting the outer end of said trigger to said rod whereby when the weight descends the trigger will actuate the latches and release the door's, all substantially as shown and described for the purposes set forth.

3. In combination with one or a plurality of stories of a building having corresponding hatchways through each floor and a pair of hinged doors for each floor which doors are adapted to close by gravity, latches for retaining the doors open, a chute extending from the top to the base of the building, a keeper secured at the top of said chute, a weight adapted to enter said chute-and being suspended from said keeper, a trigger having one end adapted to enter said chute with the other end connected to a rod which connects with and controls the latches of the doors of that floor, means for releasing said weight by heat whereby the doors will close on each floor as the said weight descends and strikes the trigger for each floor, all substantially as shown and described.

4. A mechanism for closing fire-doors in elevator-hatchways or the like, latches for holding the doors open vertically, springs for pushing the doors when the latches are released, a chute extending from the upper to the lower floors of the building, a keeper located at the top of said chute, a trigger for each floor located in said chute, a weight suspended from said keeper, a system of wires connected by fusible links, means for releasing said weight when one of said fusible links has parted, and means whereby as the weight descends and impinges the triggers the said triggers will cause the latches to release the doors and allow them to close by gravity, all substantially as shown and described and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses CLARENCE L. COLBY. Witnesses R. E. RANDLE, ROBERT W. RANDLE. 

